Page 27 of Feathers of Ash and Hope

Exhaustion crashes over me, and the memory of walking to our room is only vague.

Chapter

Eight

ARA

A dull,deep pounding jerks me awake, and for a moment, I don’t know where I am. Then everything comes back.

It’s dark, and the deep rhythmic breathing around me tells me I’m the only one awake.

I planned on showering as soon as everyone was asleep, but that obviously didn’t work. So I’ll remedy that now.

I wince when my bare feet hit the cold stone floor and hurry past the row of bunks to the big wardrobe, taking up one wall of our room. I collect everything I need from my compartment, and rather than risking waking anyone by putting on boots, I stay barefooted while I hurry down the hallway to the washing rooms.

The hot water and the familiar scent of the soap I brought with me are so relaxing that I start daydreaming. Steps and a door closing snap me out of it.

Shit.

The person who came in is getting undressed behind one of the screens while I scurry over to the one where I left my clothes and hurriedly rub myself down with a towel.

My racing heart only starts slowing down once my breasts are wrapped and my clothes are back on.

I braid up my still-wet hair and grimace when a few drops run down my neck, but there is nothing I can do about it.

I’m on my way back down the hallway, my feet still bare since I didn’t bring my boots and socks, when I pass Centurion Kyronos, and of course, he notices. Great.

Our room is dark and quiet when I return. I put everything away and sit down to put on my socks and boots when the door to our room flies open.

A person charges over to the window, throwing it open. A bloodcurdling screech makes me and everyone else jump.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m Joel Cassius, your squadron leader,” the shadowy figure exclaims, and my stomach dips. I was wrong yesterday. This is so much worse.

“Welcome to your life as a runner. Get up and dressed. We’ll meet outside in the courtyard for a quick run when the drum strikes six.”

The door slams shut behind him, and I can only stare.

Shoot me now. Didn’t Ben say Joel went to the Aerie in Avina? What is he doing here?

It’s still dark while we gather in the atrium. Apparently, every runner got the same wake-up call we did because the crowd seems to be the same size as last night. A dull, deep pounding starts, and I count six strikes. This explains what woke me and how the academy keeps time.

Joel—now Squadron Leader Cassius to me, I remind myself—calls out our names to check attendance while the same procedure goes on everywhere around us. We leave thecourtyard through the big gate in an easy jog, and I do my best to stay in the middle of the crowd and away from Joel.

“Why the fuck do we need to run when we will fly soon?” a runner grumbles in front of me.

“To get away if necessary,” a rider answers dryly.

“Can’t our bird simply pick us up?” the runner whines.

“Have you ever paid attention to the streets in the center of Telos?” the rider asks.

“They are too narrow for a bird to land or get you,” another runner answers, realization in his voice.

“Exactly, and that is why you need to be able to run. There will be areas your bird can’t get to.”

The grumbling stops after that, at least for now. We run along the fence bordering the academy grounds and soon pass a big tower with multiple arches on different levels. It’s made from the same stone as the academy.

“What building is that?” I ask the rider closest to us.

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